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Author: B.L. Panther

“Two of Us” is a sumptuous game of queer hide-and-seek

Two of Us
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Martine Chevallier and Barbara Sukowa shine in Filippo Meneghetti’s achingly tragic debut.

B.L. Panther Posted on February 2, 2021February 2, 2021

“Vanity Fair” puts a modern flair on a dusty classic

Vanity Fair
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Mira Nair turns a dreary novel into something bright and beautiful, and changed how we looked at it.

B.L. Panther Posted on January 21, 2021January 21, 2021

“Yes, but, uhh, what does “Winx” mean?” “Nothing! Just…Winx!”

Fate: the Winx Saga
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A dark ‘n’ gritty spinoff of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, Fate: the Winx Saga looks incredible, but relies on tired plot twists.

B.L. Panther Posted on January 14, 2021January 14, 2021

“Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special” is the gift that keeps on giving

Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special
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All we want for Christmas is Mariah, and she well knows it.

B.L. Panther Posted on December 8, 2020December 8, 2020

David Fincher’s Madonna videos hone her style, but dull her radical edge

Madonna David Fincher
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David Fincher and Madonna had one of the most exciting artistic collaborations of the ’90s, but made the material girl too immaterial.

B.L. Panther Posted on December 6, 2020December 6, 2020

“Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” offers some warm holiday cheese

Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
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Netflix’s original musical is perhaps a bit too earnest, but is a balm for a bleak & lonely holiday season.

B.L. Panther Posted on November 21, 2020November 21, 2020

“Animaniacs” returns to Hulu with a shiny new coat and the same old jokes

Animaniacs
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Yakko, Wakko, and Dot burst back onto the small screen with the exact same sensibility it left with in the ’90s, for better and worse.

B.L. Panther Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020

“The Weight of Water” sets us adrift in sex, truth and time

The Weight of Water
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Sean Penn and Elizabeth Hurley set sail in this testament to Kathyrn Bigelow’s trend for aquatic turmoil.

B.L. Panther Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020

Reeling 2020: “The Capote Tapes” fills in the gaps of Truman’s world

The Capote Tapes (Reeling 2020)
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Ebs Burnough’s composite portrait of Truman Capote reveals all the melodrama and queasy class navigation that seeped into every pore of his queer being.

B.L. Panther Posted on October 5, 2020October 5, 2020

Reeling 2020: “Ahead of the Curve” has all the queer joy that’s fit to print

Ahead of the Curve (Reeling 2020)
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Jen Rainin’s documentary about famed lesbian magazine Curve is a welcome snapshot of queer lit history, in all the publication’s ups and downs.

B.L. Panther Posted on October 5, 2020October 5, 2020

Reeling 2020: “Dramarama” mines teen turmoil out of faith and sexuality

Dramarama (Reeling 2020)
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Jonathon Wysocki’s debut is a charming portrait of the sound and fury of queer middle-class teendom.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 30, 2020September 30, 2020

Reeling 2020: “Galore” ends up feeling a bit slim

Galore
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Lazlo & Dylan Tonk’s documentary about Lady Galore is a technically proficient look at the title drag queen that comes up short.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 30, 2020September 28, 2020

Reeling 2020: “Gracefully” finds queer pastoral bliss in Iran

Gracefully (Reeling 2020)
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Arash Es’haghi celebrates an unnamed farmer dancing his way to self-love in Iran.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 29, 2020September 28, 2020

Reeling 2020: “Pier Kids” puts a lens on queer homelessness

Pier Kids (Reeling 2020)
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Elegance Bratton’s documentary is a kaleidoscopic view of the unhoused queer youth of Chelsea Pier.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 28, 2020September 28, 2020

Reeling 2020: “The Whistle” sings loud about New Mexico’s queer culture

The Whistle (Reeling 2020)
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Stormmiguel Florez searches for queer folk in 1980s Albuquerque, and highlights the invisibility of queer Latinx culture.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 28, 2020September 28, 2020

Reeling 2020: “Give or Take” buries its gays under suffocating tidiness

Give or Take (Reeling 2020)
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This queer drama is rife with potential and strong performances, but squashes its promise with too-neat storytelling.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 27, 2020September 30, 2020

Reeling 2020: “Keyboard Fantasies” plays the song of a Black trans musician

Keyboard Fantasies (Reeling 2020)
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Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s life and music come to light in this illuminating doc about the cult avant-garde musician.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 27, 2020September 26, 2020

Reeling 2020: “These Thems” is an accessible Queer 101 comedy

These Thems (Reeling 2020)
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The queer-centered YouTube series gets compiled into a winsome feature that works best as a Queer Culture primer.

B.L. Panther Posted on September 25, 2020September 26, 2020

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